Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport (Arabic: مطار بيروت‎) (French: Aéroport International de Beyrouth–Rafic Hariri) (IATA: BEY, ICAO: OLBA), formerly Beirut International Airport, is located 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) from the city centre in the southern suburbs of Beirut, Lebanon, and is the only operational commercial airport in the country. It is the hub for Lebanon's national carrier, Middle East Airlines (more commonly known as MEA). It is also the hub for the Lebanese cargo carrier Trans Mediterranean Airways (more commonly known as TMA Cargo), as well as the chartercarriersMed Airways and Wings of Lebanon.

Maintenance and general upkeep duties ranging from cleaning the terminal to de-rubberising the runways are the responsibility of Middle East Airports Services (MEAS), which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the national carrier, Middle East Airlines.

There are plans to eventually replace the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) with an independent autonomous government owned agency called the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA) which would assume the responsibilities of regulation and safety oversight while a new government-owned corporation named the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport Corporation (BRHIAC) would assume management and operations responsibilities of the airport.[1]

The airport opened on 23 April 1954, replacing the much smaller Bir Hassan Airfield which was located a short distance north. At the time of its opening, the terminal was very modern and it featured an excellent spotters terrace with a café. The airport consisted of two asphalt runways at the time. Runway 18/36 at 3,250 metres (10,663 ft) was used primarily for landings from the 18 end while runway 03/21 at 3,180 metres (10,433 ft) was used primarily for take-offs from the 21 end and from the Sami end.

The airport grew to become a premier hub in the Middle East, thanks to limited competition from neighbours, with fast and steady growth by the country's four carriers at the time, Middle East Airlines (MEA), Air Liban, Trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA), and Lebanese International Airways (LIA), and numerous other foreign carriers.

In response to an attack on an El Al jet in Athens, on the night of 28 December 1968, Israeli commandos mounted a surprise attack on the airport and destroyed 13 civilian aircraft belonging to the Lebanese carriers, Middle East Airlines (Air Liban had merged with MEA by this time), Trans Mediterranean Airways, and Lebanese International Airways. This caused serious devastation to the Lebanese aviation industry. Middle East Airlines managed to rebound quickly, but Lebanese International Airways went bankrupt and its employees were transferred to MEA.

The airport lost its status and the glamour it once had with the start of the 15-year-long Lebanese Civil War in April 1975 in which it lost virtually all of its airline services with the exception of the two Lebanese carriers, Middle East Airlines and Trans Mediterranean Airways, which continued operating with the exception of certain periods of interruption when the airport was completely closed. Despite the conflict, the terminal was renovated in 1977, only to be badly damaged five years later by Israeli shelling during the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. The airport was the site of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing, in which 241 American servicemen were killed. The airport's runways were renovated in 1982 and 1984.

By the time war finally came to an end in 1990, the airport was clearly outdated and fatigued. It was clear that if Beirut was to try to rebound itself, it needed to launch a massive reconstruction program. A ten-year reconstruction program was launched in 1994 which included the construction of another terminal, two runways, a fire station, a powerplant, a general aviation terminal, and an underground parking garage. Many structures like the radar building were rehabilitated.

Inside the airport, with passenger check-in and the entrance to passport control off-camera to the right.

In 1998 the first phase of the new terminal was completed. It was located immediately adjacent to the east of the old terminal and consists of gates 1–12. After it was inaugurated, the old terminal was demolished and construction on the western half began and was completed in 2000, however it was not inaugurated until 2002. This consists of gates 13–23. The new terminal can handle 6 million passengers annually and is expected to be expanded to handle 16 million passengers by 2035.

It was decided early on that the original runways were no longer sufficient, especially if Beirut was to see large aircraft like the upcoming Airbus A380. A new landing runway, 17/35 was constructed protruding at an angle out into the sea, with a length of 3,395 metres (11,138 ft). This seaward protrusion was built in order to move landing traffic away from the city in a bid to improve safety and reduce aircraft noise. A new take-off runway was constructed parallel to the old 03/21 at a length of 3,800 metres (12,467 ft) making it the longest runway in the airport. The old 03/21 was converted to a taxiway for accessing the new runway 03/21. Unlike the old runways, the two new runways were constructed from concrete and feature more advanced lighting systems and instrument landing systems. Runway 18/36 is still open, although it is used very rarely.

In 2004, runway 17/35 was re-designated 16/34 and runway 18/36 was re-designated 17/35 after more accurate runway heading measurements were conducted.

On 17 June 2005, the General Aviation Terminal was finally opened. It is located on the northwestern corner of the airport and is one of the most advanced general aviation terminals in the Middle East featuring state-of-the-art facilities. All fixed base operators and VIP charter providers have moved their operations to this state-of-the art terminal.

In 2005, the airport was controversially renamed from "Beirut International Airport" to "Beirut–Rafic Hariri International Airport".

On 13 July 2006 at approximately 6:00 a.m. local time, all three runways of the airport sustained significant damage from missile strikes directed at it by the Israeli Air Force as part of the 2006 Lebanon War. The Israeli Air Force claimed that the airport was a military target because Hezbollah was receiving weapons shipments there.[2] The runways were rendered inoperative and the Lebanese Government declared that the airport was closed until further notice.[3]

Shortly thereafter, MEA used one of the long taxiways at the airport to evacuate five of its aircraft (four Airbus A321 and one Airbus A330).

The airport reopened to commercial flights on 17 August 2006, with the arrival of a Middle East Airlines (MEA) flight around 1:10 p.m. local time from Amman, followed by a Royal Jordanian flight also from Amman. This marked the first commercial flight arrival at Beirut International Airport since the airport's closure almost five weeks before. All runways and taxiways at the airport have been successfully repaired and the airport is operating as it was before the hostilities.

On 6 June 2007, U.S. President George W. Bush amended a ban on air traffic to Lebanon imposed since the 1985 hijacking of TWA Flight 847 to allow flights by the U.S. Government. A press release issued by the White House said that the "prohibition of transportation services to Lebanon...is hereby further amended to permit U.S. air carriers under contract to the United States Government to engage in foreign air transportation to and from Lebanon of passengers, including U.S. and non-U.S. citizens, and their accompanying baggage; of goods for humanitarian purposes; and of any other cargo or materiel. ".[4]

The central foyer of second level in the main terminal, once passport control has been cleared, during Christmas. The entrance to the Cedar Lounge can be seen in the top left-hand corner of the picture, on the second floor.

The terminal consists of two wings, the East and West Wing, joined together by the main terminal, forming a U‑shaped building, with each wing being parallel to the other, and the main terminal connecting the wings. The modern terminal consists of 23 gates, 21 of which have jetways, and two of which are dual jetway gates for large aircraft. There is Wi-Fi throughout the airport, but it is only free for the first 30 minutes used. Smoking is prohibited in almost all areas inside the terminal, with a few exceptions (see below).

Each wing contains its own departure gates, as well its own café, restaurant (which features a smoking section), newsstand, and tourism shop. The East Wing, which opened in 1998, has gates 1–12 and the West Wing, which opened in 2002, has gates 13–23. Gates 2 and 3 are dual jet-way gates for large aircraft. Gates 4 and 22 are bus boarding gates, however these are rarely used. The only way to move from one wing to the next is through the main terminal.

The main terminal includes the bulk of the duty-free, some other shops, a restaurant, and the lounges (see "Passenger Services" section below for more details about the lounges). The main terminal has four levels:

The ground level, which features the arrival area, and also contains a duty-free section for arriving passengers next to baggage claim. The duty-free shops and baggage area are accessible to arriving passengers after they clear passport control, but before they clear customs (this duty-free, like all the others, is not open to the general public). The general public has access to the waiting area, and there are various cafes and restaurants open to the public.

The second level, features the departure level, security checkpoint, ticketing, customs, and immigration. It also includes the primary duty-free shopping area, which is only accessible to ticketed passengers once they clear immigration. There is also a second security checkpoint passengers must pass through before accessing each separate wing.

The third level, which houses all of the private airline lounges, as well as a restaurant.

The fourth level, which mainly houses the airport administration offices; closed to the public and passengers.

The airport has all of the typical airport passenger facilities, including duty-free shops, cafes, restaurants, banks, a post office, prayer rooms, and a tourist information centre (managed by the Ministry of Tourism).

The airport has two lounges for premium passengers, both of which are located on the mezzanine level above the Duty Free area in the departure area. A third lounge, which once existed solely for passengers of Saudia Airlines only, has since closed. The lounges currently operating are:

Cedar Lounge, owned and operated by Middle East Airlines. It occupies half of the available lounge space at the airport.[13] The Cedar Lounge opened on 1 August 2005,[14] and extends over an area of 3,000 sq. meters, with a maximum capacity of 300 seated passengers. The lounge has various seating areas, an enclosed smoking area, a business center, a children's play area, a bar, and a self-service cafeteria.[15] It is open to MEA passengers with business class tickets, and to first and business class ticket holders from select airlines, including (but not limited to) Air France, Emirates, Kuwait Airways, Lufthansa, Alitalia, Qatar Airways, and Saudia.

The airport has a three-level car park with a total capacity 2,350 cars.[citation needed]

Public transportation to the airport does not exist, except for taxis. These tend to be more expensive than regular service taxis, however.

LCC Bus Route 1 takes passengers from the airport roundabout, which is located one kilometer from the terminal, to Rue Sadat in Hamra, whereas Route 5 takes to the Charles Helou bus station. OCFTC buses number seven and ten also stop at the airport roundabout, en route to central Beirut.

The airport has two three ground handling operators, Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) Lebanese Air Transport (LAT) and trans Mediterranean Airways (TMA).

Middle East Airlines Ground Handling (MEAG) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA. It provides ground handling services for the national carrier, MEA, as well as most of the carriers serving the airport, including the cargo carriers. MEAG handles nearly 80% of the traffic at the airport.[citation needed]

Lebanese Air Transport (LAT) is a smaller ground handling operator that conducts ground handling operations for a number of carriers serving the airport. LAT specialises in handling charter flights, but do have contracts with a number of scheduled carriers such as British Airways. Once upon a time, LAT was an airline that operated its own aircraft, however this was many years ago.[citation needed]

MEAG recently launched its own FBO services with the opening of the new General Aviation Terminal called the Cedar Jet Centre, now regarded as the airport's top FBO. Another leading FBO is Aircraft Support & Services, which specialises in fixed-base operator services for private and executive aircraft. In addition, they operate two executive jets that can be chartered to various places. JR Executive operates a fleet of small propeller aircraft that can be chartered or leased.[citation needed] They also have a flight school. They also conduct light maintenance on light aircraft and also offer fixed based operator services. Cirrus Middle East, a member of the German Cirrus Group, is partnering up with Universal Weather and Aviation to create a fixed base operator and VIP charter service to be launched on 15 October 2012.[citation needed] The company will initially be called Universal/Cirrus Middle East, but will eventually become Universal Aviation Beirut. They aim to become one of the top FBOs in the Middle East and will cater aircraft as large as Boeing 747s.

The airport is the home base of MidEast Aircraft Services Company (MASCO), an aircraft maintenance provider that specialises in Airbus maintenance, particularly the A320 and A330 series. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the national carrier, MEA. MASCO has JAR 145 approval and as a result can maintain any aircraft registered in Europe.

Passenger use and aircraft movements have increased each year since 1990 with the exception of 2006, which saw a sharp decrease in both. Total cargo has trended upwards since 1990, but also experienced a significant decrease in 2006.[17]

On 30 September 1975 a Tupolev Tu-154 of Malév Hungarian Airlines, Malév Flight 240 crashed into the sea while approaching the airport. The cause and the circumstances remain mysterious, but it was most likely shot down.

In September 1970, Pan Am Flight 93 was hijacked while flying to New York. The plane landed to refuel and pick up another PFLP hijacker. It was then flown to Cairo where it was blown up.

On 17 May 1977 – Antonow An-12, SP-LZA, a cargo plane leased by LOT Polish Airlines from the Polish Air Force along with its crew, flying to Lebanon with a cargo of fresh strawberries crashed 8 kilometers from Beirut airport, all 6 crew members and 3 passengers on board were killed. The airplane crashed due to language problems, the crew repeated the order to descend given by the air traffic control and flew into a mountain.

On 23 July 1979, a TMABoeing 707-320C, on a test flight for 4 copilots due to be promoted to captains, crashed whilst on a third touch-and-go. The plane touched down but then yawed right to left to right again before the wing clipped the ground causing the plane to flip and come to rest inverted across a taxiway. All 6 crew members were killed.[22]